Recorded shark attacks have steadily increased in recent times, while at the same time the desire to offer conservation and protection to sharks has also increased as populations dwindle significantly.
It is known that all chondrichthyans such as predatory sharks have highly sensitive electrical receptors called the “Ampullae of Lorenzini” located in their snouts. These tiny gel filled sacs sense electrical current from prey, but only at very close distances, typically less than one meter.
Conventional shark repelling devices are arranged to generate a localised electrical field that causes the ampullae to spasm and consequently the shark to move away from the generated field.
A typical such conventional device includes a 2.2 m trailing antenna provided with two electrical contacts in electrical communication with the surrounding water, and an electric field generator arranged to generate an electric field across the contacts of sufficient intensity to produce the desired effect to the ampullae of a shark that is sufficiently close to the antenna.
However, this type of shark repelling device tends to generate drag during use of the surfboard, which inhibits performance of the surfboard.